I agree with Warren and believe he is right on.
I went on my first elk hunt as an observer/pack mule in 1990 in AZ, with my good friend who was an outfitter at the time. Have been applying to the quality unit(s) every since and no bull elk draw yet. Did not apply every year, but have a fist full of bonus points and hope to draw some day. I hunted with my friend last year in AZ and most of the NR's I spoke with who drew had been applying for around 15 years. You guys can sugar coat AZ all you want, but it is darn impossible to draw there, but then again somebody has to draw. And yes, there are always the folks who draw with low bonus points, but the percentage of that runs uncomprehendablely low.........................................
Hogliver, you menitoned good bulls and a friend who will shoot anything, there are lots of places with good bulls. We did not draw in MT this year, but hoping for NM and will go to OR if necessary. OR is crowded, but I have stuck a 340 bull there. In fact, I am always getting into 280-360 bulls in MT, NM and even OR. If you are willing to get off the roads and bust some tale to get back in the woods, there are alot of great places to hunt elk other than AZ.
My opinion and only my opinion, unless you are obsessed with taking that 400 class bull, why waste you time and money, especially money after the 2007 fees kick in on AZ? Many will disagree with me, but if you study the odds, see the statistics and have a boat load of bonus points like I do, then you will ralize that AZ is truly a NR elk hunters dream that may or may not come true. I hope I do not sound bitter for not drawing yet as this is surely not my intent as I have just as much fun chasing them bulls with my AZ resident buddies, without a tag.
By all means, apply with the rest of us, but get focused on the other states as well and make sure you are chasing some bulls every September, somewhere! Best of luck to you!
Regards,
JL